---
title:  Main Steps to Deploying Configuration Files
---

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These are the basic steps for deploying configuration files, with related detail in sections that follow.

1.  Determine which configuration files you need for your installation.
2.  Place the files in your directories or jar files.
3.  For any file with a non-default name or location, provide the file specification in the system properties file and/or in the member `CLASSPATH.`

## <a id="concept_337B365782E44951B73F33E1E17AB07B__section_53C98F9DB1584E3BABFA315CDF254A92" class="no-quick-link"></a>Geode Configuration Files

-   `gemfire.properties`. Contains the settings required by members of a distributed system. These settings include licensing, system member discovery, communication parameters, logging, and statistics. See the [Reference](../../reference/book_intro.html#reference).
-   **`gfsecurity.properties`**. An optional separate file that contains security-related (`security-*`) settings that are otherwise defined in `gemfire.properties`. Placing these member properties into a separate file allows you to restrict user access to those specific settings. See the [Reference](../../reference/book_intro.html#reference).
-   `cache.xml`. Declarative cache configuration file. This file contains XML declarations for cache, region, and region entry configuration. You also use it to configure disk stores, database login credentials, server and remote site location information, and socket information. See [cache.xml](../../reference/topics/chapter_overview_cache_xml.html#cache_xml).


